The 99% Spring is here.

This week, people at more than 900 events nationwide are coming together for an unprecedented movement-wide training.  

This week, we'll learn to tell the story of our economy and what went wrong and prepare ourselves to take action and stand up to the corporate dominance of our economy and our democracy.  

Will you join the 99% Spring? Click here to find the event closest to you:

http://www.the99spring.com/route.php?type=participant&code=99IBT

This week, more than 900 trainings will take place in union halls, living rooms, places of worship, community centers and parks.

This week, everyday people will stand up and prepare to take courageous, visionary, morally compelling direct action. This week, we will continue the legacy of those who secured women's ability to freely vote, who broke down the old Jim Crow laws, who led strikes and formed labor unions.

This week, we will join the struggle to create that kind of change again.

Join us in making change - join a local 99% Spring training TODAY:

http://www.the99spring.com/route.php?type=participant&code=99IBT

Last  year, from the Wisconsin workers who took over their state capitol to Occupy Wall Street, we saw a new movement in America using direct action to highlight the unprecedented inequality that's destroying our country.

The 99% Spring is our chance to maintain and broaden that change making energy, and learn how we can take action to challenge corporate power, end tax giveaways to the 1%, fight the influence of money in politics, and create an economy that works for all of us.

Our movement is uniting, and this is a chance for all of us to come together to create a new future for our country. Will you join in?

Click here to sign up for a 99% Spring action training in your area:

http://www.the99spring.com/route.php?type=participant&code=99IBT

CLICK HERE

**URGENT – EMERGENCY**

TEAMSTERS NEEDED

OUR BASIC RIGHTS ARE UNDER ATTACK IN GEORGIA!

SB469 HAS BEEN PASSED BY THE SENATE.  THE HOUSE BILL # HAS NOT BEEN ASSIGNED YET.

SB 469 hurts working families across Georgia.  SB 469 violates the Constitution by stifling legal peaceful protests.  It limits the right to protest of churches, civic associations, fraternities, and other groups, as well as labor unions.  It improperly burdens the State Department of Labor and private employers with enforcement of federal labor law, and oversteps the authority of the state to regulate in an area pre-empted by the National Labor Relations Act.  It changes Georgia criminal law for the crime trespass – to punish both conspiracy to commit the crime and the crime itself – unlike any other provision of Georgia criminal law.  It also makes the penalty for conspiracy higher than for criminal trespass – unlike any other provision of Georgia criminal law.

 SB 469 violates the First Amendment right to protest.

• The purpose of this Bill is to stifle lawful picketing.
• It would criminalize behavior of a union or group based solely on an individual’s “affiliation” with the group, even if the individual is not acting as an agent for the group.
• The right to protest can not be overcome in all instances by the unlimited right of a resident to “quiet enjoyment” of their home, nor by criminalizing the intent to interfere with it.
• This would stifle lawful activity and limit the rights of a wide variety of groups to peaceably protest in a variety of settings.

 SB 469 creates special exceptions to criminal law to penalize peaceful picketing.

• SB 469 lowers the necessary showing for issuance of an injunction required for every other kind of injunction under Georgia law.
• SB 469 specifies the penalty of $1,000 per day for an individual or $10,000 for an organization for each day of violation without allowing the court to exercise discretion – and then allows the employer to collect the fines as damages.
• It departs from all other provisions of Georgia criminal law by allowing an individual to be convicted of both criminal trespass and conspiracy to commit criminal trespass.  This is barred for any other crime.
• SB 469 creates a higher criminal penalty for conspiracy to commit criminal trespass than for the completed crime of criminal trespass – unlike any other provision in Georgia criminal law.

  SB 469 creates an unfunded mandate on all employers and Georgia DOL.

• SB 469 requires employers to post messages in workplaces regarding decertification of unions under federal law.
• SB 469 charges the State DOL to enforce the law against employers- responsibilities regarding enforcement of federal law that are beyond the jurisdiction of the State Department of Labor.
• Georgia is already a “right to work” state (and has been since 1947).  Georgia law already prohibits requiring union membership as a condition of employment.  This Bill just adds an unnecessary duty on employers to distribute an anti-union message, and wastes taxpayer dollars by imposing an unfunded obligation on the State Department of Labor to enforce it.  There is no fiscal note with the bill regarding the cost of this obligation on the already limited resources of the Department.

 SB 469 violates federal law governing the rights of dues check off.

• Federal labor law takes precedence over Georgia law in governing what the rules for union dues check off and revocation are.  This law improperly interferes in that realm.
• This Bill interferes with teachers’ reliance on professional insurance and would create risky gaps in coverage.

 Law enforcement officers say this Bill would waste limited public safety dollars and put people in jail who should not be there – wasting taxpayers’ dollars.

WE MUST STOP THIS LEGISLATION.

CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE.

JOIN US IN THIS FIGHT!

CONTACT YOUR BA FOR DETAILS

TO PRINT THIS AS A FLYER CLICK HERE

Members of Teamsters Local 728 were amongst the groups that led the MLK march, Monday, January 16. They chanted "What's outrageous? Wall Street wages!"

“I’m really proud of the turnout and the spirit of our members,” commented Randy Brown, President of Local 728. “This dedication shows me that our members are prepared for the struggles we will face in 2012 and onward.”

Al Mixon, Teamster International Vice President and Chairman of the Teamsters National Black Caucus (TNBC), was the Grand Marshall of the March and the keynote speaker at the rally that followed. He urged the crowd to continue the struggle for justice and equality for all. “We need to keep the dream alive. The only way that’s possible is if we keep our eyes open and don’t lose sight of the bigger prize – that we are all human beings, we all deserve the right to attain the American dream.”

Check out the video on YouTube

via www.teamster.org

(ATLANTA) – Republic Waste drivers in McDonough, Ga., voted 24-14 to join Teamsters Local 728 on Friday after a hard-fought campaign.

'This is a great victory for our union,” said Local 728 President Randy Brown. “It adds another unit to an existing group of Republic workers in the Atlanta area. It goes to show, yet again, that we can organize waste workers in the South.”

The organizing victory marked the seventh National Labor Relations Board election won by Teamsters Local 728 this year, including two at Republic.

The drivers were frustrated by wage cuts, intimidation, heavy workloads and management’s indifference to their problems.

“They piled more work on us. If you didn’t have 358 stops in one day, they took the helper off,” said Renard Henley, a Republic driver. “You’ve got a lot of people, after three years their body has broken down.”

“We deal with a lot of intimidation on the job. If you complain about anything, the first thing they tell you is ‘There’s the door if you don’t like that.’ We didn’t need to hear that. We’ve got a family just like they do,” Henley said. 

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. For more information, please visit www.Teamster.org or follow us on Twitter @TeamsterPower.

You can also read about the victory Here

 Teamsters Local 728 is working with a team of community leaders to assist union members and our families in fighting foreclosure proceedings and working out assistance for those families in need.

 If you or someone you know is facing foreclosure please take the time to fill out the following questionnaire so that we can figure out the best way to go forward to help keep families in their homes. Once you complete the questions below or for more information please contact : Ben Speight, Teamsters Local 728, Organizing Director at 404-624-5260 or bensp8@gmail.com

Foreclosure Assistance Questionnaire:

1. Where is the home located?
2. When was it purchased and from what bank?
3. How much was the home purchased for?
4. What is the current value of the home?
5. What bank currently owns the mortgage (if different from the original)?
6. Have you attempted to refinance or modify your loan?
7. Do you have the means to pay your mortgage?
8. Do you have legal representation?
9. How many people live in the house? Any children?
10. Are you employed? Where?
11. Are you a member of a church, union, or other organization?
12. Do you have any criminal charges that could be brought up and used against  you?
13. Anything else that you think that we should know about your situation?

Click here to read information about the IBT/UPS Pension Plan Participants.

Click here to read about the Website Available for Participants of IBT/UPS Pension Plan.

FEWER UNIONS = MORE POVERTY

Unions keep people out of poverty. This comes as no surprise to proud union members and our families. Click here to continue reading

Click here to read:

PLEASE HELP CF MEMBERS COLLECT MONEY FROM THE 2002 BANKRUPTCY

CSA2010 INFORMATION

Click here for more information Union Plus

MASTER AGREEMENT

SUPPLEMENTS:     P&D       OTR        SHOP     OFFICE

Change of Operations Decisions

 Welcome Teamster:

Click on the link  to get information about the National 401(k) plan available to all Teamsters.

 The best advise is to know your contract and communicate with your Job Steward.  Remember -- every grievance is a gripe but not all gripes are grievances.

   MEMBERS GUIDE FOR GRIEVANCE SUCCESS

ALWAYS TALK WITH YOUR STEWARD FIRST.  If you have a problem, talk to your Union Steward first before you call your Business Agent at the Local Union.  If you need to file a grievance, remember to file it within the time limits set forth in your contract’s grievance procedure.

DECIDE IF YOU HAVE A GRIEVANCE.  Ask yourself the following questions to determine if you have a grievance.  Consult with your Union Steward for guidance.  Remember, every grievance is a gripe, but not all gripes are grievances. Below are the six areas in which a grievance could occur:

a.                Has the employer violated the contract?

b.               Has the employer done something that is against the law?

c.                Did the employer violate the company’s own rules?

d.               Is the employer singling you out or a small group of co-worker?

e.                Did the employer change a long-standing past practice?

f.                  Were you terminated, suspended or disciplined unfairly?

FOLLOW THE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE.  Locate the grievance procedure in your contract and look it over.  Follow your grievance procedure plus the advice listed below.

a.      Process your grievance on time.  Be aware of the time limits set forth in your contract.  Give your written grievance to your Union Steward.  You must follow the grievance procedure outlined in your contract or you risk having your grievance called improper by the employer.

b.      Write a proper grievance.  Follow the instructions on the grievance form.  Be brief and give “just the facts.”  On every grievance, complete all necessary sections of the grievance form so that your Union Steward can properly process your grievance.

c.       Provide evidence and explanation.  Your Steward and Business Agent will do a much better job presenting your case if you are able to offer a clear, complete, understandable description of your case, along with supporting statements and evidence.  Don’t make your Steward do all the work.

d.      Participate in winning your grievance.  If your problem is shared by one or more of your co-workers, you are urged to file a group grievance.  In addition, it is important that you ask your Union Steward what you can do to help get a favorable decision.  It is important to involve your co-workers.

THE FOUR RULES OF EVIDENCE AND EXPLANATION

1.               Opinions are not facts.  All opinions must be specifically qualified.  It’s a long way from saying “everyone knows” to proving your case.

2.               Hearsay evidence is not fact.  We need eye witness statements, dated and signed.  Pictures, diagrams and copies of evidence are also helpful.

3.               Facts must be relevant.  You need to identify the facts that have direct relevance to your particular grievance.  Focus on one incident or complaint per grievance form.  Separate your issues into separate grievances. 

4.               Facts must be timely.  Know the time limits set forth in your contract.  You can have the best grievance in the world but if it isn’t processed on time, it’s not good.  Additionally, most grievance procedures do not allow the employer or the Union to bring up actions or evidence that occurred in the distant past.  Be sure what you are bringing up is within the timeliness “zone” for your contract (usually nine months).

Caution:  When the employer attempts action against you, if you bring up your record or some other evidence that is beyond the timeliness “zone” you open your entire record for use by the employer in their case.  If you have a spotless record, fine.  Otherwise, it’s not a good idea.